19 Feb 2009

Adelaide coach let off lightly

7:55 am on 19 February 2009

Adelaide United's football coach Aurelio Vidmar has escaped serious penalty from A-League authorities for his now-infamous post-match rant in which he slammed his club after their semi-final trouncing from the Melbourne Victory last weekend.

Vidmar has been given a suspended fine of $2,000 for breaching soccer's national code of conduct, and will only have to pay it if he breaches the code again before or during round nine of next season.

In his post-match media conference, Vidmar blamed "politics" for the defeat and labelled Adelaide "a pissant town" in reference to elements he accused of trying to undermine the club.

Football Federation Australia noted that his outburst was out of character.